Lyft driver Albert Boakye, 46, was arrested and charged with ‘misdemeanor assault’ for allegedly attacking country star Clare Dunn in Nashville, TMZ reported on Tuesday.
Boakye was reportedly taken into custody by police late Monday night after authorities released his name and photo to the pubic following a harrowing incident in late June.
The ride share app driver is accused of dragging Dunn out of the backseat of his car and slamming her face-down in a ditch after she questioned the route he was taking.
Justice: Lyft driver Albert Boakye, 46, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly attacking country star Clare Dunn in Nashville, TMZ reported on Tuesday
Police believe that Boakye ‘physically removed Dunn from his vehicle’ following an argument over a missed turn on her route back home after a night out with friends.
According to TMZ, the singer was injuring in the scuffle and ‘sustained bruises and lacerations to her head.’ The driver has been released after posting $1,000 bond.
The country star who is known for hits like Move On, Get Out, and Tuxedo revealed the harrowing details about the incident in an interview with PEOPLE last week.
The 34-year-old said she had a good time with girlfriends before ordering a Lyft home with a close friend who was dropped off first.
Incident: Police believe that Boakye ‘physically removed Dunn from his vehicle’ following an argument over a missed turn on her route back home after a night out with friends
‘I had that intuition that something was wrong, and I ignored it,’ she told PEOPLE.
At around midnight, Dunn and her friend hailed a Lyft to drive them home. The friend was dropped off before Dunn without incident.
Dunn then expected to be driven to her home some 10 miles away by the driver. She asked the driver to take the ‘slower route’ to avoid going on the highway but the driver ignored her.
She said: ‘We were barreling towards the interstate and I spoke up and was like, ‘Hey, that was my turn. Where are you going? You need to take the next right turn’.’
That’s when the driver started screaming at her, according to Dunn.
‘I couldn’t really make it out — his English wasn’t the best,’ she said. ‘And I just knew in that moment that I wasn’t going to get on that interstate with him. I wasn’t going to go quietly where he wanted to take me. And I think he realized maybe this girl was going to be more trouble than she’s worth.’
As the Lyft ride was still more than a mile away from her house, the driver decided to pull over.
‘Before I could even get my shoes off or get my phone to try and call 911, he grabbed me by the collar, ripped me out of the backseat and slammed me face-first down into a ditch,’ Dunn told PEOPLE.
‘Before I could even get my shoes off or get my phone to try and call 911, he grabbed me by the collar, ripped me out of the backseat and slammed me face-first down into a ditch,’ Dunn told PEOPLE.
‘Somehow in the scuffle, I thought I called 911, but I didn’t even get the number right. But it was a miracle. They called me back,’ she continued. ‘And when I came to, I was screaming, and I saw headlights. He ended up just leaving me alone at that point and took off.’
Dunn ran home. Her face was covered with cuts and bruises. After arriving home, she went to the emergency room.
She filed a police report a short time afterward. With the help of a detective, they identified the driver.
‘I remember telling myself that I was overthinking it and I just wanted to go home. That’s all I remember thinking about it and just trying to tell myself it’s fine,’ she said. ‘I blame myself.’
Lyft released a statement to PEOPLE saying: ‘Safety is fundamental to Lyft. The behavior described is appalling, and we permanently removed the driver from the Lyft platform as soon as we learned of this incident. We’ve reached out to Ms. Dunn to offer our support and are assisting law enforcement with their investigation.’
Dunn is urging Uber and Lyft passengers to take pictures of drivers’ license plates before getting in the car. She also encourages customers to get information about the driver beforehand.
‘This has been hell,’ she said. ‘I don’t want anyone else to go through it. Even if it just can keep one girl or one guy from going through this … he knew what he was doing.
‘He hit ‘complete the ride’ after it was done. I didn’t take a screenshot of his license information during the ride. All of that goes away when a ride is completed.
‘All I had was a little tiny profile picture and his first name,’ she explained. ‘It’s a slow process if you don’t have all that info.’
‘Somehow in the scuffle, I thought I called 911, but I didn’t even get the number right. But it was a miracle. They called me back,’ she continued. ‘And when I came to, I was screaming, and I saw headlights. He ended up just leaving me alone at that point and took off.’